Leasing the Sky: AER – QAV America #30 (fixed)

In this episode of QAV America, Cameron and Tony take a tour through the strange split-brain mood of the US markets, where weak economic data is somehow bullish because investors are convinced the Fed will cut rates in December. They break down the odd macro setup, check in on the portfolio, and walk through fresh results from star performer **Willis Lease Finance (WLFC)** and a big buyback from **Enova (ENVA)**. From there, Cameron recaps the performance of the 27 US stocks they've analysed this year, before diving into a full deep-dive on **AerCap (AER)** — the world’s largest aircraft lessor. The conversation covers why airlines lease instead of own, how aircraft leasing actually works, why Ireland is the global nexus for the industry, the wild origin story of Guinness Peat Aviation, and the massive headache AerCap faced when Russia and Ukraine seized more than 150 of its aircraft in 2022. They wrap with QAV scoring, book-value checks, revenue and profit trends, and a broader conversation about how the leasing model fits into cyclical markets, AI, mobility, and long-term capital allocation. Everything from the Fed to kung-fu neural adaptation shows up along the way.